Blog

On-Road Vehicle

Today I made an attempt to see the remnants of Berdoo Camp—one of many temporary camps that functioned as the staging grounds and housing for those who built the aqueducts in California as well as their families. Berdoo Camp was part of the Colorado River Aqueduct project that brought water to Los Angeles. It was erected in the early 1930’s northeast of Indio Hills, CA, and was abandoned in 1937. It was one of the largest camps constructed and many crumbling foundations and walls still exist.

My failure to reach my destination was a simple one. The only road near the camp is old and nonexistent in parts, and my car is an on-road vehicle. Approximately 2 miles short of my destination, I decided to turned back. Things that were not in my favor were: the washed out road, piles of debris littering the already suffering road, and some seemingly fresh spent shotgun and rifle casings (this is actually common in the desert, but it does not inspire confidence for one’s safety despite how ridiculous the movie Twentynine Palms may have been). It also happens that August is probably not the best time to go as average temperatures routinely go over 100° F; today it was 112° according to weather underground. So after some slightly rough road and what looked like worse ahead, I returned home with only these images.